The Art of Collecting Art

Javier Lumbreras's The Art of Collecting Art is an invitation to the art world, as a way of building savor-faire. This book is unlike many on the topic of art collecting, which generally are written in an incomprehensible, ethereal language, as is so common in the realm of art criticism, in an effort to exude an air of lavish intellectualism in a discourse that, in reality, lacks content. Instead, this book is founded simply on the union of passion, knowledge and faith in the arts.  The language employed by Javier Lumbreras rejects the use of linguistic posturing, which tries to persuade readers that talking about art requires some form of elevated rhetoric. On the contrary, the language is friendly and inviting, revealing the passion - and the discipline- that comes with the trade. Unencumbered by technical excesses, the text does not weigh down the reader with terminology borrowed from a multitude of fields, but fulfills the objective of the true critic: to become the mediator between the world of artistic creation and the world od those who wish to experience art and art collecting.

The Art of Collecting Art is, in reality, a conversation with a devout art collector, with a connoisseur who has traversed all realms of the art collecting world: galleries, art shows, auctions, donations, museums, artists, movements, collectors, preservation techniques, packaging and transporting. Within these pages, Javier Lumbreras places emphasis on educating our senses, since this is the only way art can be understood on a deeper level. Art collecting thus, begins with the basic pleasure that the observer feels; accordingly, the collector must begin by strengthening his emotional connection with the work of art in question.  And it is through these mean that Lumbreras passes on to us his passion for art, and that extra dimension that enriches our lives.

-Eric Espinosa

• Hardcover: 429 pages, printed on 150g Hello Silk paper
• Publisher: Fomento Cultural Banamex (October 31, 2011)
• Language: English & Spanish Versions
• ISBN-13: 978-607-7612-54-4
• Product Dimensions: 12.75 x 10.0 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds